Dear Solar Guy,

I am wanting to design and implement a solar project that will allow me
to operate a window  air conditioning unit in my home.  I would like to
be able to operate this about 6 hours a day on a timer with the hopes
that it will help my older central air conditioner on these blistering
Texas summer days.
Since I have never worked with solar energy, can you direct me on the
types of panels, battery systems and converters I would need?  Is there
a site on the Internet that demonstrates how to build a small solar
plant?

Thanks for your help,
Lisa

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Hi Lisa,

I would recommend that you buy a copy of Home Power magazine. There
are articles every month about people who are doing things like what you
want to do.

You might want to purchase a book such as "The Solar Electric House :
Energy for the Environmentally-Responsive, Energy-Independent Home"
by Steven J. Strong, William G. Scheller or  "The New Solar Electric Home:
The Photovoltaics How-To Handbook". by Joel Davidson.

I do, however, want to briefly educate you on the brutal economics of
solar. At this point, solar-produced electricity (photovoltaics) is quite a
bit
more expensive than what you can buy from the electric company. You
are essentially buying your own power plant and paying for all of the
electricity that it will produce for the next 20-30 years, right up front.

Unlike the power company, you cannot deduct the cost of this capital
expense from your taxes. And, the power company doesn't pay anything
for the environmental degradation or resource depletion that it causes, so
it's product is artificially cheap. It's not fair, but that's the way it is.
In the
end, PV electricity will cost you 2-3 times as many dollars as what the
electric company sells it for.

By all means, before you go off trying to make energy to feed your A/C,
ask yourself whether you have done the things that will make your A/Cs
job easier:

- window shadings, such as plantings, solar screens, awnings, even draperies
- Insulation, attic ventilation, sealing your A/C ductwork.
- reducing excess air leakage in your structure.

These are often very easy, and can be the most cost effective steps that
you can take.